Second update:
The best find of the trip was probably Jerk Town USA in West Palm Beach, a small Caribbean place right off West 45th (and close to my hotel) which offers good food in large quantities for not much coin. I ordered their $7.99 “small” jerk chicken platter, which was anything but small: probably a half-pound of meat, mostly white with a little dark, spicy but not obscenely hot. The platter also included a large mound of red beans and rice, with a subtle coconut flavor that really took it to another level; a warm cabbage slaw; and two maduros, which (QED) is one secret to getting a good review from me. Great value, great food, no way you could leave there hungry, especially with a “large” option on the platters.
Caspian Grill in Plantation was one of the better high-end (relatively speaking) restaurants I hit. The restaurant’s iced tea is brewed to order and was excellent. I ordered a combination plate that included two kabobs, one of chicken and another of a spiced ground meat mixture. The plate was huge – the chicken alone was probably two servings – and came with a huge portion of plain basmati rice that had obviously just been steamed, although it could have used a little flavoring. The chicken was perfectly cooked, but a little dull (I know, it’s chicken, it’s dull as a result of a few decades of corporate blanding efforts), while the beef mixture was outstanding. The combo dish was $16, plus $2 for the iced tea. If I end up there again, I’ll go for the beef-only platter ($11) and try the hummus ($5), which ought to be outstanding in a Persian restaurant – or a sign to head in the other direction.
Sushi Rock in Coral Gables was solid, despite the odd atmosphere (the “Rock” refers to rock music, with an eclectic mix of music piped in and some musicians’ portraits on the walls). The salad was huge, a bit overdressed but very good. I went for a simple lunch of salmon nigiri, unagi nigiri, and a spicy tuna roll. The salmon was good, definitely fresh, but maybe a bit bland. The unagi was outstanding, although in my experience, as long as it’s not ice cold, it’s usually good. The spicy tuna roll was a disappointment; the spicy sauce was vinegary, not spicy, and it was kind of dumped on rather than integrated with the fish. When I ordered, I asked if the spicy tuna was made with mayo, and I’m pretty sure that the waitress who said no said something about “kimchi,” which would explain the tartness.
Aleyda’s, a “Tex-Mex” place in West Palm Beach on Okeechobee, was a huge disappointment. Although the menu leans more towards the Mex side of Tex-Mex (a Good Thing™), the food was bland and the portions skimpy. I ordered chicken fajitas – not my norm, but they claim it’s their signature dish – and there was little to like. The chicken was overcooked when it reached the table, a problem that only got worse as it sat on the hot cast-iron skillet, and it had little to no salt on it. The yellow rice that came on the side was hard, like it had come from the bottom of the bowl or had been sitting out for a while. And the side of guacamole that came with the dish made us laugh – it was less than a tablespoon’s worth. To make matters worse, the service was terrible, starting with the hostess giving us a broken highchair and continuing with the waiter disappearing from when the food was delivered until long after we’d finished. The live cockatoo and amazons in a cage out front was a plus, at least from my 10-month-old daughter’s perspective.
Another dud: Mamma Mia in Boynton Beach, a restaurant I had actually been to before, but not since 2000. The veal piccata was overcooked and slightly greasy, the side of pasta was cooked to within an inch of its life, and the salad was drowned in dressing. The portions are huge, and that’s why they pack them in, but the quality isn’t there.
One more update after I get back to Massachusetts…
Re: Hummus at Persian/Middle Eastern places
While I agree that there is no excuse for not having good hummus at a middle eastern restaurant, I generally think the real test is Baba Ghannouj. Really, anyone should be able to make a decent, if not very good, hummus. It’s just not that hard. On the other hand, anything with smoked eggplant can go wrong in a variety of ways. Thus, I like to use this as a kind of litmus test. Another good test for these kind of places is the Tabouli which can range from soggy and bland to fresh, crispy, and flavorful.
Sorry for the mini-treatise, I just ate at a very good (but not great) Lebanese restaurant in Norwood, MA (it’s right down I95 and worth the trip from beantown).
Also, while Tex-Mex food can be and often is quite delicious I generall try to shy away from any place that is self-described as Tex-Mex. My experience has been that the places that have good Tex-Mex are frequently billed as being Mexican but really are a mix of traditional Mexican food and more Americanized fare.
Jesse – what’s the Lebanese place called? Norwood’s not far from me at all, and of course I zip by there to/from the Cape during the summer.
It’s called Byblos. I must warn you, however, that there was a guy playing keys fairly loud the whole time. It was quite cheesy. He had this thing where he would play a chord and then the synth would take that chord and create a bass part that was an arpegio of it. He would then play the lead part. After that, towards the end of the night, around 9-9:30ish, they put on some incredibly loud music on the overhead speakers and had a belly dancer come out. Thus, I would suggest eating there on the earlier side.
One more thing, if you are trying to get there don’t use googlemaps because they have the wrong directions/address.
Also, in terms of the Cape, if you want any recommendations feel free to ask because I live in Bourne and love to eat. There aren’t that many great places but there are a lot of good ones.